Storm - What happened next?
by honeyjadecladdagh
Summary: The ending to Celtic Thunder's show "Storm" was quite the cliff-hanger as it ended with a fight breaking out between the villagers and the gypsies. Here is my version of what happened afterwards. Story begins just before the fight happens. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Ryan sat alone in his wagon one warm, sunny afternoon, rubbing his thumb along the curved blade of a dagger that rested on his knee. The dagger was a family heirloom, given to him by his father many moons ago. Until now, he had never found much use for the small weapon, except to keep about his person for protection during his nightly village raids. But on the night he had seen the highwayman cavorting with his sister, Caroline, he hadn't taken long to think of another use for the dagger and it had taken all of his self-control to not charge headlong at Keith and slit his throat.

The memory of that night made Ryan's blood boil. Who did those villagers think they were? First they had taken his people's land, and now this! He was aware that Keith didn't necessarily qualify as a villager since he hadn't been born in the village. He was just some mystery man who had joined them years ago. But to Ryan that didn't make a modicum of difference, especially since Keith was the one responsible for defiling his sister! Ryan gritted his teeth and tightened his grasp on the hilt of the dagger tightly until his knuckles went white. Enough was enough. It was time they fought back and reclaimed what was rightfully theirs. He would put his father's dagger to good use.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running feet drawing closer. He looked up as the door of the wagon swung open to see Julianne standing in the doorway, gasping for breath. She hadn't left the gypsy camp since that night at the well and had quickly become the newest addition to his clan. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking. "Is...is it true?" Ryan nodded in response. "You're going to attack the village? Today?! Ryan, you can't! You'll be killed!"

"What happens to me doesn't matter" he replied. "So long as we achieve what should have been done a long time ago."

"What...what do you mean?"

Ryan rose to his feet and approached the young blonde woman before him. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he said to her "Have you ever wondered why us gypsies hate the villagers so much? Why we steal from them so often? Because they stole from us first. All this land once belonged to my people before your ancestors took it from us and drove us from our homes. It's time that was corrected. And besides," he added, "they've got my sister. I have to get her back."

Julianne stood there in silence, gazing up at him through her bright blue eyes. "Well, I guess that's understandable but...but you can't hold a grudge against them for something their fathers did. Especially when it could lead to the deaths of innocent people."

Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "You don't understand" he muttered before slipping the dagger into his belt and walking towards the door.

A soft, warm hand clasped around his wrist. He looked back to see Julianne holding his arm firmly, staring at him with tearful, pleading eyes. "Please, don't do this" she whispered.

Ryan felt his heart soften (something he wasn't sure it was capable of) as he stared at Julianne who silently entreated him to not go through with his plan, despite her awareness that it was a lost cause. As much as Ryan hated to admit it, most, if not all, of the points she had made were reasonable. But the flames of his hatred still burnt strong and, at this rate, it was going to take a miracle to quench them.

As gently as possible, Ryan released his arm from Julianne's grasp and laid his palm against her cheek. Her skin was as soft as rose petals. Bending his head towards hers, he whispered in her ear "If I don't come back, remember that I will always love you, no matter what."

He gently pressed a kiss to her lips, then, in what seemed to be an instant, he was gone.

Across the river in the village, while the men attended to their chores, the women sat around the fire, whispering and giggling as they watched Keith berating Damian for the thousandth time. This had been going on for quite a while now and they were all enjoying the little show immensely. It was always amusing to watch them quarrelling like two young brothers.

Meanwhile, Keith, who was just about ready to give up, rolled his eyes as he listened to Damian prattling on and on about how he was a grown man now and should be treated like one and how he could easily get himself a girl, if only he was given the opportunity. Admittedly, it would be interesting to watch the boy try to woo a lady (mainly because the odds of his success were very slim) but the thought was laughable nonetheless. Did this kid honestly think he stood a chance with any of those girls? Keith had often witnessed Damian's feeble attempts at sweet-talking the ladies, all of which had failed miserably, and it was clear he didn't have what it took.

Rolling his eyes once again, he looked over at Damian and opened his mouth to say something when a movement in the background caught his eye. A figure sprang into view which Keith immediately recognised as the Gypsy King. Damian seemed to notice his attention had been distracted and followed his gaze. As soon as he saw the Gypsy King approaching, he sprinted to Keith's side. The highwayman couldn't help but chuckle. _Grown man, indeed!_ he thought bitterly.

Now more gypsies were joining their king and began to form a large group behind him. By now, the others had seen them and the women retreated to their homes while the men assembled alongside Keith and Damian. The gypsies seemed fierce, as if they were looking to start a fight.

George strode forward until he was face to face with the Gypsy King. "What do you want here?" he enquired. "We've done nothing to you! Go back to your own side of the river and leave us in peace!"

Ryan ignored George and pushed past him. He sprang towards Keith and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Where the hell is my sister?!" he yelled. "What have you done with her?!"

Keith looked surprised. "Your sister?"

"Don't play the innocent with me!" Ryan spat. "WHERE. IS. MY. SISTER?!"

"Ryan?" They heard a female voice say.

The two men turned in the direction the sound came from. Ryan's jaw dropped when he saw Caroline standing in the open doorway of a nearby cottage. He was relieved that his sister was alive and well, though he was still intent on paying Keith back for seducing her. But before he could say anything, Caroline marched up to her brother and stood before him, hands on hips, looking stern.

"What the hell are you doing here, Ryan?" the dark-haired woman demanded of her brother.

"I could ask you the same question, Caroline. Go back to the camp this instant."

Caroline folded her arms defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh? Have you decided to join this lot then?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith asked indignantly.

Ryan glared at him. "You know exactly what it means, _Highwayman_!" He practically spat the last word. "You villagers have ruled over my people's land for too long now. Well, not for much longer."

The Gypsy King then raised his hand as a signal and, with a deafening yell, the gypsies poured into the village and within a few short seconds, the ground became a battlefield.

Back in the gypsy camp, Julianne heard the distinct shouts of men from the confined space of the wagon. Cautiously, she opened the door and peered across the river. The sight that met her eyes filled her with unimaginable horror. Just as she had predicted, a fight had broken out in the village. Squaring off one on one, both villager and gypsy struggled and fought, each stubbornly refusing to be overpowered by their opponent. It was chaos. Some distance away, she could see Keith engaged in a fierce battle with Ryan whose sister was desperately attempting to hold him back and failing. As soon as she saw this, Julianne knew she had to help, even if she wasn't much of a fighter. Pushing the door open, she sprang nimbly over the bridge towards the battlefield.

Keith flung the Gypsy King away from him, snarling viciously. In his anger, he reached for the pistol that hung by his side on a belt and aimed it at the dark-haired man before him. This thieving nuisance had tormented the village for too long and if anyone was going to stop it, he was.

A strong hand grabbed his arm. Keith turned to see George attempting to wrestle the gun away from him, yelling "No, lad, don't! He's not worth it!" Keith ignored him and wrenched his arm free. Caroline jumped in front of her brother defensively but Ryan pulled her out of the way and tossed her to the ground. He couldn't let his sister die for him. He **wouldn't**. And so, turning to face the highwayman, he closed his eyes and awaited his doom.

The sound of a gunshot invaded his ears, followed by a woman's scream. Ryan jumped at the noise and was immediately filled with worry. Had Caroline been hit? If she had, he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself. He opened his eyes and looked around. To his relief, Caroline was completely unharmed and stood behind him, a look of shock plastered across her face. Everyone had fallen silent and was staring at the ground in front of Ryan, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. Confused, Ryan looked down and when he did, he felt his body turn to water and his heart shatter into a million pieces. There lay Julianne in a heap on the floor with a gaping gunshot wound in her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

The village was as quiet as a grave as everyone, both villagers and gypsies, sat or stood around the campfire, exchanging nervous glances. The only people who weren't present were George and his daughter Ruth. They had taken the injured Julianne into their cottage and were attempting to heal her wound. Everyone was waiting anxiously for the verdict on the condition of Julianne and were hoping and praying that she would survive.

Ryan was beside himself, pacing back and forth in a frantic state, worrying himself sick about Julianne. Every time he closed his eyes, that horrible scene flashed before his eyes. He could still hear the bang of the pistol and the haunting scream that echoed from Julianne's lips. Off to the side, Keith was sitting alone, wringing his hands together, his face pale with guilt. For the hundredth time, he berated himself for being so thoughtless and callous. The thought of having shot Julianne, and the fact that he could likely be responsible for her death, was more than he could handle. Caroline was standing directly between the two of them, looking from one man to the other. She was torn between her feelings for her brother and the highwayman. She wanted to comfort Ryan and let him know that everything would be alright. But she also wanted to comfort Keith and assure him that it wasn't entirely his fault. She continued to look between them, somewhat helplessly. Who was she supposed to go to?

Suddenly the door to George's cottage flew open and out he came, followed by his daughter. Everyone rose to their feet and looked at them expectantly, hoping that whatever news they had was good. "Well?" asked Nicole, a young dark-haired woman who was a close friend of Julianne. "Is she going to be alright?"

George smiled reassuringly. "She's doing very well. We managed to get the bullet out and it seems no serious damage has been done. She's going to be just fine."

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Caroline's hand flew to her heart. "Thank God she's alright."

"No thanks to your brother" Keith muttered.

Everyone looked in his direction. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ryan demanded.

Keith rose from his seat and approached the Gypsy King until they were face to face, glaring at each other. "If you and your band of thieves hadn't attacked us, none of this would have happened and Julianne wouldn't have been hurt."

"I'm not the one who shot her" Ryan reminded him.

"But you're the one who started this fight. You're the one who's always causing trouble around here, stealing from us and wrecking our homes!"

"You're one to talk, Highwayman!"

"Oh, for goodness' sake! Will you stop it?!"

Both men turned to look at Caroline who was frowning at them in annoyance. "Honestly, you two are as bad as each other! Need I remind you, someone nearly died BECAUSE of your fighting. And yet here you are, still keeping up with your quarrel! This has to stop!"

Ryan stared at his sister in surprise, which really was saying something because the Gypsy King was hardly ever surprised and when he was, it was usually because of something serious. Caroline had always been a fiery woman but she had never been this angry before, especially with him. But, regardless, there was no denying that Caroline was right and as Ryan looked at Keith, it was clear that he was thinking the same thing.

George clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. "She's right, lads. It's time we put old grudges behind us and moved on. This has gone far enough."

Everyone exchanged looks and nodded, giving murmurs of agreement as they realized that they were all equally responsible for the events that had just occurred. If only they hadn't been fighting in the first place, none of this would have happened. Both George and Caroline were right. This had to stop before someone really was killed. It was time to forget about the wrongdoings of their forefathers that had brought about this feud and start anew.


	3. Chapter 3

**One year later…**

Summers in the village were always bright and sunny and the evenings were warm and peaceful. Nobody would have guessed that just a year ago, a vicious fight had taken place in that very village. But it had happened and all who lived there knew it was so. They could never forget it and they never would.

Shortly after Julianne had recovered from her injury, the villagers and the gypsies had made a pact to end the feud between them, a pact that they intended to keep, if for no other reason than for the sake of their loved ones. It was agreed that the land would be shared between them and that the gypsies would always be welcome in the village. This last part of the agreement was met with some resistance from Keith but his mind was quickly changed when Caroline told him that "unless he wanted a repeat of the events that had led up to this, he should just accept it and shut up".

It took some time for life to return to normal but things soon began to settle down until the village was once again in peace. The gypsies became less of a problem as their frequent raids came to a standstill and Caroline moved into the village with Keith.

One calm, mild evening late in the summer, Julianne stood leaning against the barrier of the bridge running over the river that separated the gypsy camp from the village. With a distracted smile, she gazed absently at the small rural community that had been her lifelong home. She sighed. If someone had once told her that she would someday leave the place to join a handsome Gypsy King and his convoy, she never would have believed them.

"Missing your home?"

Julianne jumped at the sudden voice behind her but a smile found its way onto her lips when she saw Ryan walking towards her. "A little. I know it's only a short walk away from here but I was born and raised there. It feels so different being away from my friends and family and living with you instead."

"What? Does that mean you hate being with me?" Ryan asked, pretending to sound hurt.

Julianne chuckled at his feigned upset. "Oh come on, you know that's not what I meant."

Chuckling, Ryan kissed her on the cheek and draped an arm around her shoulders. "I know. I was just joking. I miss my sister just as much as you miss your family." As he said this, he gazed across the river towards the village and sighed.

Julianne gave him a sympathetic smile. "You don't need to worry about her, Ryan. I know you don't like Keith but he's a good man. He'll treat her well. I know it."

Ryan met her eyes and smiled. "I hope so." A brief silence followed before Julianne spoke again.

"Do you remember the day you and Keith had that fight?"

Immediately, a surge of painful memories came flooding back to Ryan, as well as a feeling of crippling guilt. Oh yes, he remembered alright.

"As if it were yesterday" he answered. "I'm really sorry about what happened that day."

"So you've said a thousand times already. And for the thousandth time, I forgive you. When will you realize that?"

"Believe me, Julianne, I do understand that. Really I do. But no matter how many times you forgive me, I still can't help feeling guilty about it. I was so afraid that I might lose you and…" Ryan was suddenly interrupted by Julianne's lips against his. When she pulled away, Ryan was so surprised, he couldn't speak. Luckily, Julianne did the talking for him.

"Ryan, listen to me. I know you feel guilty but you can't blame yourself for something you didn't do. Sure, you were the one who attacked the village and I suppose I should be mad at you for that. But I realize now that you only did it because you were trying to reclaim your land. Heaven knows if someone had taken my home from me, I wouldn't be too happy either. So, once again, I forgive you for what happened, as should you."

Ryan stared awe-struck at the woman who stood before him. He couldn't believe she could forgive him so easily. She really was too good for him. "You're too soft for your own good. You know that?" he told her.

She smiled at him. "Is that such a bad thing?"

He cupped her chin in his hand and bent towards her. "Not at all" he whispered before kissing her.

Later, that night, while Julianne was fast asleep in the wagon that she and Ryan shared and all was quiet, Ryan sat alone on the bank of the river, watching the village intently. That same village he and his men had raided many times before. That village he had patrolled night after night for his next burglary. But tonight, as he watched, he realized he no longer felt the urge to steal. Why that was, he couldn't tell. Maybe it was because of this new pact that had been put in place. Maybe it was because of his feelings for Julianne. Maybe it was because his sister now lived there. Or maybe it was a combination of all three.

He sighed and thought. Perhaps it was time to put his life of crime behind him now. After all, there were more important things that demanded his attention. He had people to care for and a new love in his life. No amount of gold or silver could ever be more important than that.

He nodded to himself. Yes. It was time to give up his criminal life. He and the villagers may never truly be allies but if it meant ending the war between them and ensuring the safety of Julianne and his sister, that was good enough for him.

And so, with one last glance at the village, he bade a small goodbye to his sister. Then he turned and ran back to the gypsy camp and, in less than a second, he was gone.

 **The end**


End file.
